Page 128 of Beautiful Ruins
And when to come home.
36
Raze
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the kitchen was sunlight.The second was her.
Izzy stood at the stove barefoot, wearing nothing but my shirt.It swallowed her whole — sleeves rolled to her elbows, hem grazing mid-thigh.Her hair was loose, slightly wild from sleep.She was humming softly to herself while flipping something in a pan like it wasn’t the morning after the night I burned down her past.
I leaned against the doorway and watched her for a moment without speaking.There was something obscene about how normal this looked.Domestic.Peaceful.Mine.
She sensed me the way she always did and glanced over her shoulder.Her mouth curved slowly when she saw me.
“You’re staring again, Raze.”
“I am.”
She turned back to the stove.“It’s called breakfast.People make it every day.”
“I’m aware.”
But I wasn’t staring at the eggs.
I was, unabashedly, staring at the round of her ass as it moved against my shirt.I’d probably never wash that shirt again.
My mind drifted to last night.The war was over.The Russians were no longer a threat.Nathan was gone.The ghosts that had followed her — followed me — were finally silent.
For the first time in years, I didn’t wake up calculating threats.I woke up calculating how long before she realized I was watching her like a man who had no intention of ever letting her go.
Before I could cross the room and make good on that thought, footsteps sounded behind me.
Tone’s voice cut through the suffocating silence.
“Is it safe to come out now?”
Izzy blinked and turned.I glanced over my shoulder.
Tone stood at the entrance to the hallway, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.She looked rested.Amused.Entirely too pleased with herself.
“Safe?”Izzy repeated.
Tone walked further into the kitchen, eyeing both of us suspiciously.“I just needed to confirm.I value my hearing.”
I frowned.“What are you talking about?”
She looked between us, unimpressed.“You spared no cost when you built this place, Raze.Reinforced windows.Security grid.Panic rooms.”She gestured vaguely at the walls.“But insulation?Apparently optional.”
Izzy froze.
Then slowly, very slowly, she turned pink.
I stared at my sister for a beat.Then I grinned.
Tone rolled her eyes.“Honestly.I considered putting in earplugs.Or a white noise machine.Or relocating to the non-existent garden.”
Izzy covered her face with her hands, embarrassed.“Oh my God.”
“You’re being dramatic, Tone.”
